Currently, the United States lawmakers are intensifying their efforts to come to an agreement regarding raising the debt ceiling. In this hour of hustle, two new crypto-focussed bills were introduced on Capitol Hill recently.
After a series of hearings focusing on stablecoins, the methodology of regulation of cryptocurrencies and the classification of digital assets, the lawmakers have introduced two new bills with new areas of interest. In a recent move, Rep. Alex Mooney, (R-West Virginia), introduced the Digital Dollar Pilot Prevention Act.
The proposed bill aims to prevent a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or similar government issued token, from getting off the ground. As stated in Mooney’s statement:
CBDCs would threaten the liberties of law-abiding Americans and are being used by authoritarian countries right now to crack down on dissent.
Notably, Mooney’s bill has received 14 cosponsors, all of which are Republican, who have largely emerged as the party advocating against a CBDC over concerns about lack of privacy.
The bill comes shortly after the Federal Reserve collaborated with several foreign central banks on a report covering how CBDCs could impact the global economy. The report highlighted privacy, data governance and anonymity as key areas where legal issues could arise concerning a retail CBDC.
Additionally, last week, members of Congress moved forward with a bipartisan effort to provide more transparency into the extent to which cryptocurrencies are being used for dark web drug trafficking.
While Representatives Chris Pappas, (Democrat-North Hampshire), and Tony Gonzales, (Republican-Texas), introduced the Dark Web Interdiction Act, Senators Maggie Hassan, (Democrat-North Hampshire), and John Cornyn, (Republican-Texas), brought a sister bill to the Senate floor.
The bills intend to impose stricter penalties on trafficking controlled substances on the dark web and direct the Attorney General to issue a report to Congress on the role of cryptocurrencies in dark web drug dealing. The report would specifically provide extensive details on which tokens are to be used most often and how individuals using cryptocurrencies could be identified.
Notably, the proposed bills come as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle struggle to advance crypto policy. House Republicans and Democrats have released dueling stablecoin bill drafts, highlighting differences in how lawmakers view the role of state legislators and what issuers are granted approval.
Even bipartisan efforts, like the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, penned by Senators Cynthia Lummis, (Republican-Wyoming), and Kirsten Gillibrand, (Democrat-New York)., have struggled to gain momentum with key committees. Lummis and Gillibrand had said they would reintroduce the Act this past April, but the senators have not yet brought the bill to the floor this session.
The United States political arena is exploding with legislative bills aiming to regulate the crypto sector. While in most scenarios, Republican lawmakers have been found to be more progressive towards crypto, certain issues have risen as bipartisan receiving support from both sides.
Simultaneously, there has been a significant haze around the issuance and adoption of digital Dollar. Contrary to crypto, here most of the Democrat lawmakers have advocated for CBDCs, while Republicans have significant concerns associated with privacy and control. Notably, with presidential elections approaching, lawmakers have also started to use these topics for their respective propaganda.